site.btaBulgarian Entrepreneurial Association Supports Cabinet's Decision to Present New Draft Budget

The Bulgarian Entrepreneurial Association (BEA) said here in a Monday press release that they support the government's decision to present a new draft State budget. BEA expressed readiness to contribute with expertise toward the formation of a draft budget with a new philosophy - a budget focused on prosperity and growth.

According to employers' organization, the budget should place emphasis on economic growth, investments, innovation, and support for honest businesses and entrepreneurs across the country. In this regard, they propose their ideas for both the short- and long-term, aimed at encouraging higher-quality economic growth.

In the short term, they call for maintaining the current tax and social-security framework and scrapping the planned increases in social-security contributions and the dividend tax. Among the proposed measures is the need to reduce personnel expenses to below 10% of GDP and to take swift steps to cut overall spending by at least 1% of GDP.

They also emphasize the importance of political will for a comprehensive plan to limit budget expenditures in the long run. This includes new rules for public-sector wages tied to real economic growth, rationalizing public-sector employment, and introducing a fair model for the minimum wage that protects both the state and businesses.

In the long term, BEA proposes adopting a multi-fund pension model, which they believe would stimulate real investment activity and higher returns. They also say incentives are needed for so-called “angel investments” and R&D activity, which unlock the country’s innovation potential.

The Association also supports reforming legislation with clear criteria for public-private partnerships, which could bring more investment into key sectors. 

They also believe that partial privatization of inefficient state-owned companies through the stock exchange, in the form of minority stakes, would contribute to more effective management, stronger public oversight, and greater investor interest. Also important, they say, is the transition of employees from the public administration to the private sector through joint programmes between the state and businesses, which improve labour-force mobility and reduce administrative burdens.